I was asked to contribute my story as a gay Christian to a project where experiences of GLBT Lutherans are being compiled for publication. I decided to post it here. Tom’s Story I was born and raised in a rural Midwestern industrial city in the 50s and 60s where church and family were one. My family attended a large conservative Lutheran congregation with strong German…
One Week till Chicago and Navy Pier
This coming Saturday I leave for Chicago and the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. I think it will be quite an experience. This past week I received the latest issue of The Lutheran. The Editor’s column spoke about the importance of the assembly. Daniel Lehmann, the Editor, spoke on the difficulty of discussing sexuality in the Church. He highlighted the fact that this assembly faces numerous memorials…
Weight Watchers: Week 7
It was a great weigh-in at Weight Watchers this week! I weighed in at 252.8 and lost 3.4 pounds bringing my total loss to date to 15.4 pounds. It had been consistently down all week. Saturday gave me a scare with the Thrivent picnic and dinner at Parrasons. I weighed myself Sunday morning and it was up a pound. When I weighed myself this morning,…
Akron Zoo
Yesterday, Brett, our friend Phil and I went to the Akron Zoo for the annual Thrivent Member Appreciation Day. This is an event I created three years ago and managed for two years. This was the first year that we could go and enjoy the zoo. I didn’t volunteer to do a single thing. It was very enjoyable. If you haven’t been to the Akron…
2 Weeks and Counting
In two weeks I leave for Chicago and the ELCA’s Churchwide Assembly. This will be a long and exciting week. Yesterday, the voting members from NE Ohio met for an orientation session. It appears to be the typical Lutheran group, actually somewhat diverse. There is so much material to cover. I already have 2” binder full. Much more will be handed out in Chicago. Last…
Estate planning is essential for same-sex partners
This article appeared on today’s Business Page of the Akron Beacon Journal. I decided to post it to remind our friends to have their estate planning in order. It is so important. Estate planning is even more imperative for same-sex couples than for straight spouses. Gay couples don’t have the tax and inheritance advantages that marriage conveys,” says Washington attorney Tanya Harvey. Harvey recommends that…
Weight Watchers: Week 6
It slowed to a trickle. I was very bad this past week in terms of following the Core Plan. I controlled my intake but know that I used more points than I was allowed. At weigh-in, it showed. I weighed in at 256.2 and still lost .2 pounds bringing my total loss to date to 12.0 pounds. At least, I haven’t had a gain yet….
Weiner Dog Picnic
Here are some photos from today’s NE Ohio Dachshund picnic at Plum Creek Park in Kent. There were hundreds of dachs there. The costume contest was too cute. The baseball team was the winner in the group costume category.